Milan Lucic 'threatens' Dale Weise in handshake line after Game 7

The show of sportsmanship and class that takes place at the end of every playoff series took an ugly turn Wednesday night.

By Dan CagenDaily News staff

BOSTON — The show of sportsmanship and class that takes place at the end of every playoff series took an ugly turn Wednesday night, with Dale Weise accusing Milan Lucic of threatening him in the post-game handshake line after the Canadiens' 3-1 Game 7 victory.

“Milan Lucic had a few things to say to a couple guys,” Weise said. “You look at a guy like Shawn Thornton, who has been around the league and he plays hard and he plays that role and he had good things to say to everybody. He [lost] with class and Milan Lucic just couldn't do that. Well, I won't get into what he said. It's just poor, it's a poor way to lose.”

Weise told reporters that Lucic threatened him and Alexei Emelin during handshakes. Lucic appeared to say something along the lines that he was going to get Weise next year as he shook his hand.

“It's said on the ice, so it'll stay on the ice,” Lucic said. “So if [Weise] wants to be a baby about it, he can make it public.”

Lucic's reputation has been sullied this season by a series of incidents, from two separate spearing incidents, flexing his arms this series and now turning one of hockey's grand traditions into a scene of anger and venom. The handshake line is supposed to be the place where winners and losers put aside the rivalry that has built up over the past 4-7 games and respect one another.

“Just one [player], that couldn't put it behind them and be a good [loser],” Weise said. "Milan Lucic had a few things to say to a couple guys.”

Weise and Lucic went back-and-forth all series with extracurricular activities. In Game 2, Lucic pounded his chest wildly after scoring an empty-net goal to cap the Bruins' big comeback. Two days later, Weise was doing his own chest-pounding after he scored a goal of his own in Game 3.

Then in Game 5, after Lucic wrestled with P.K. Subban along the boards, the winger flexed his muscles from the bench. Weise again mocked Lucic the next game, doing some flexing of his own at the end of the first period in Game 6.

The Habs talked openly about the disrespect they felt they were receiving from Lucic, as well as from Thornton, who squirted water on Subban in Game 5. Krug also pounded his chest in Game 1 after a goal.

Coach Claude Julien claimed the chest-pounding was related to 'Boston Strong,' the mantra the city has used since the Boston Marathon attacks. The Bruins did not begin pounding their chest until Game 5 of the first round, over a year after the 2013 Marathon, and when asked about it before Game 2 of the Montreal series, Krug did not reference 'Boston Strong.'

Yet for the Canadiens, it seemed to be a motivating factor, and something they used to rally from down 3-2 to winning the series and moving to the Eastern Conference finals against the Rangers.

“They're a classy organization, but they gave us a lot of reasons sometimes to compete a little bit harder and t make sure we were winning battles,” Subban said. “You know, as a player, I know that I'm a guy who feeds off of that. I know we have a bunch of guys who feed off of that as well, and when you mix that with the loss we had last time in Game 7 [in 2011], it's a pretty lethal weapon to have when you're playing coming into this building.

“There's nothing better than shutting up everybody here.”

The Bruins dispute that they provided fire to their enemy.

“You talk about disrespect, and I don't think we disrespect them,” Julien said. “There's a rivalry here and … we don't like each other because it's a rivalry. And at the same time, the pounding of the chest — the people who have been here, have seen us do that all year because it's related to 'Boston Strong.' Our guys take some pride in what's happened in 'Boston Strong,' and unfortunately, everything we did seemed to be seen as disrespect in Montreal.

“And we heard a lot of that whining in terms of the series, but it has nothing to do with disrespect, and whether it's flexing a muscle — that's gamesmanship. It's like that in every round. So it's too bad that it gets blown out of proportion, but you know what? They won the series, fair and square. They were the better team tonight. and you have to respect that. So it's up to us to move on, and them to keep moving toward their goal.”

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